Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in his debate speech on SIR on December 10, accused Congress of reverse vote theft. He said that Sonia Gandhi has stolen votes by filing her name in the vote list before getting citizenship. The reality is that there is neither any allegation of vote theft against Sonia nor has anything like this been said in the case filed in the court in this regard. When Sonia Gandhi’s name was included in the voting list in 1980 without having Indian citizenship, Chaudhary Charan Singh’s government was at the Centre. Sonia did not vote then.
The case going on in the court in this regard is not about vote theft but about the fact that his name appeared in the voting list in 1980 without acquiring Indian citizenship. This case is technically continuing in the court, it has not been completely quashed. The court will give its verdict in January 1926.
However, the Magistrate Court had rejected the complaint demanding FIR regarding this. Now, on the revision filed against the same order, Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi has issued a notice and sought reply from Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police.
what is the matter
The allegation is that Sonia Gandhi’s name was included in the voter list of New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency in 1980, whereas according to public records, she took Indian citizenship in April 1983. The complainant says that if the name was there in the voter list of 1980 then there must have been forgery or rigging in some documents, hence an FIR should be lodged. In September 2025, the Rouse Avenue ACJM court had rejected the complaint seeking registration of FIR.
The court had said that determining citizenship is within the jurisdiction of the Central Government, while adding or removing names from the voter list is the jurisdiction of the Election Commission, hence ordering a criminal investigation on this would be beyond the jurisdiction of the court.
The complainant has filed a criminal revision against this quashed order, on which the Special Judge (PC Act) Court of Rouse Avenue has issued a notice to Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police on 8 December 2025. The court has fixed the next hearing for January 6, 2026; That means the matter is now pending at the stage of “revision” and not completely closed or cancelled.
Was the crime of ‘voting without citizenship’ proved?
Till now no court has said that Sonia Gandhi, being a non-Indian citizen, voted illegally or a crime has been proved. The reality is that he did not vote then. There is no clear evidence or record of Sonia Gandhi voting in any election around 1980 in available public information or court documents
It was alleged that Sonia Gandhi’s name was added to the voter list in 1980 but was removed in 1982. He was included again in 1983, when he acquired Indian citizenship.
The petitioner has made the inclusion of name in the voter list a ground of fraud, but no concrete claim or evidence of casting the vote was presented. At present it has not been proven that he voted without citizenship. The Congress side argues that he did not vote in any election before getting citizenship on 30 April 1983.
Did Sonia apply to become a voter?
No, there is no clear record of Form 6 or any formal application by Sonia Gandhi for inclusion in the 1980 voter list in publicly available court documents, Election Commission records or news sources.
Petitioner Vikas Tripathi has only referred to the photocopy of the voter list of 1980, in which the names are alleged to be included, but has not produced any proof of the application form or documents. He expressed suspicion of using fake documents but did not show the record of the application.
Can we say that Sonia stole votes?
No, on the basis of her name being included in the voter list of 1980, it would not be correct to say that Sonia Gandhi “stolen votes”. No source proves that he voted in or around 1980. The dispute is only over the presence of the name, which was later removed. To prove vote theft, proof of actual voting is necessary, which is not available.
Whose government was at the center then
The work of preparing the voting list related to the 1980 Lok Sabha elections was done during the tenure of the central government led by Chaudhary Charan Singh. The 1980 Lok Sabha elections were held on 3–4 January 1980. Before the announcement of elections, there was a coalition government of Janata Party at the Centre. Prime Minister Morarji Desai resigned in July 1979. After this, Chaudhary Charan Singh of Lok Dal formed the government with the support of Congress. Although this government was in minority. Congress soon withdrew its support.
Chaudhary Charan Singh resigned after withdrawing support. President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy dissolved the Lok Sabha. New elections were announced in August 1979, but Charan Singh continued to serve as acting Prime Minister until the next Lok Sabha elections were held and the new government was formed.
Who was the election commissioner then
At the time of the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, S. l. Were suspicious. His full name was Shyamalal Shakdhar. His tenure started from 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982. His appointment was made through the President during the Janata Party government.
How does one’s name get included in the voter list?
The Election Commission itself does not include any person’s name in the voter list, nor can any person himself include his name in the list. Happens after verification of the application made by an individual.
To become a new voter, a person has to fill Form 6, in which name, address, date of birth, photograph and identity documents (like Aadhaar, passport, birth certificate) have to be submitted. The Booth Level Officer receives the application at the local level, conducts field verification and sends it to the Electoral Registration Officer, who gives final approval.
In the context of the 1980s, the voter list process was manual, with BLOs or local officials verifying applications, but citizenship verification was a central government matter.
